USD Coin (USDC) vs Tether (USDT): Institutional Stablecoin Investor Preference

In a comparison of two of the largest stablecoins, USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT), market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock provides insights on institutional stablecoin investor preferences.

Main Key Points:

USDT has more total addresses (4.1 million) compared to USDC (1.7 million).
USDT has more active addresses, indicating higher user activity.
Transaction volume is higher for USDT, but the average transaction size is higher for USDC.
The average USDC wallet balance is higher than that of USDT.
USDT is more popular overall, reflected in its market cap.

Despite having fewer active users, USDC has a higher transaction volume and larger average transaction size, making it the preferred stablecoin for larger traders and institutional entities. On the other hand, USDT is favored by retail users. Both stablecoins experience minor price deviations and have relatively flat price movements.

In terms of market cap, USDT is the third largest cryptocurrency, following Bitcoin and Ethereum. USDC ranks sixth on the market cap list.

Hot Take: USDC Attracts Larger Traders and Institutions, While USDT Dominates the Retail Market

The data suggests that institutional stablecoin investors prefer USD Coin (USDC) due to its higher transaction volume, larger average transaction size, and higher average wallet balance. On the other hand, Tether (USDT) remains the more popular stablecoin overall, with a larger user base and market cap. This indicates that USDC is favored by larger traders and institutional entities, while USDT is the preferred choice among retail users. As the stablecoin market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these preferences and dynamics shift over time.